Birthday Weekend Extravaganza

Birthday Weekend Extravaganza began with receiving a Tippmann A-5 paintball marker from my family, continued with a strong showing by the Jilb and I at Rustproof's DDR competition, and concluded with a surprise trip to the cities to see Sunday's T-Wolves / Kings game.

The Pregame

I had never been to a T-Wolves game before, so I wanted to be sure to experience everything - which meant it was crucial to arrive at the Target Center a full two hours before the game. I was glad we did, though, because Jill, myself, and about a dozen other fans were treated to watching the "Maddog" Mark Madsen take about 92,000 ten-foot jump shots (of which, he probably missed 91, 995). He didn't play in the game, by the way.

(Maddog tosses up another one)

Maddog was cool, though, because before heading back into locker room, he was the only player to sign everything that was handed to him from over the tunnel. I was there, over the tunnel, taking pictures but was lamenting that I had nothing for him to sign. Then the Jilb reminded me that the back of my e-ticket paper would work pretty well.

So she snapped some photos while I had the following intelligent conversation with Mr. Madsen.

Me (handing him my paper): "You're the man, Maddog."

Maddog (signing and giving the paper back): "No, you are."

Me (thinking for a split second about this, then finally): "No, you are."

Maddog (walking away down the tunnel): "No, you are, baby!"

Needless to say, he's remained, in recent years, one of my all time favorite players.

(The Maddog signed for everybody)

The Game

It was impeccable timing that my first live T-Wolves game also happened to be on the same day as, arguably, KG's most dominant performance of the year. He scored a season-high 37 points, and was involved in the highlight of the afternoon - running a fast break with Ricky Davis and throwing down the alley-oop with authority.

And, when the game was tight down the stretch, he made 5 of 6 pressure free-throws, along with a difficult 18 foot jumper to ice the game.

He was a joy to watch.

Other notes: With the Wolves struggling to score in the second quarter, rookie Rashad McCants made several timely jump shots to keep his team afloat. (He also was the last one out on the court shooting during the pregame shoot around.) And, with the Kings making a run in the fourth quarter, he took the ball on the wing, flew through the lane, and dropped in a ridiculous reverse lay-up, effectively breaking the Kings' momentum.

He only played about 20 minutes, but he made the most of his time on the floor. He'll be fun to watch in years to come.

Final Score: Timberwolves, 95 - Kings, 89

Thanks, the Jilb, for a great weekend.